Good news for marketers – Meta’s moving quickly to add branded content tools on Threads, which would provide a means to run influencer campaigns within the rapidly growing app.

As reported by Axios, Meta’s looking to expand its Branded Content tools to also cover Threads, in order to avoid undisclosed, and technically illegal, brand and product endorsements in the app.

As per Axios:

“Instagram's branded content tools aren't currently available on Threads. But a source told Axios that Instagram is working to quickly make them available, which would give marketers an opportunity to begin experimenting with paid promotion, while advertising is still unavailable.”

Meta has said that paid promotions won’t be available on Threads till it reaches an unspecified level of mass adoption, but Branded Content tools, which include in-stream partner tags, would provide an alternate means to boost your products in the app, while also ensuring that such promotions are properly disclosed, in line with evolving rules.

Essentially, Meta would prefer to keep ads out of the app at this stage, in favor of growth, but inevitably, some marketers are going to run affiliate programs, and such promotions require disclosure. Which the Branded Content tags cover on Instagram, but without that official process, Meta will be reliant on the businesses themselves adding relevant tags, like #ad, which is less effective.

So it’s not necessarily by choice that Meta’s moving on this, but more through logical necessity - but either way, you may soon have a way to start building Threads into your marketing strategy.

We’ll keep you updated on any progress.

On a related note, Meta’s also working to add government-affiliated media labels to relevant Threads accounts, in order to keep up with its now-established regulatory practices, along with fact-checking indicators.

Meta told an Australian inquiry into foreign interference that these will also be added as a priority.